WHAT IS A CONSERVANCY ?
River Heritage Conservancy ( RHC ) is a park conservancy founded in 2016 . A park conservancy is a private , nonprofit , nonpolitical organization that works in partnership and alongside government and private organizations to create , improve , and / or manage one or more parks in a community .
Conservancies usually work in collaboration with local governments , as with the private sector , under a formal agreement between both parties through MOU ’ s ( Memoranda of Understanding ).
These MOU ’ s define the scope , limitations , and responsibilities of the conservancy and partnering organization .
BENEFITS OF A CONSERVANCY
One of the biggest benefits of a conservancy-run park is consistency and sustainability , not to mention reduced cost to local towns , cities , and municipalities . Parks developed and managed by conservancies tend to be trend-setters with big visions , proactively engaging the private sector . Not your typical engineered and managed projects , these are often more creative and their business models build in efficiency and high-quality operations .
As a private organization run by business professionals , a conservancy drives toward a higher level of visitor experience . This is due to the private sector ’ s attention to detail and continual assessments of visitor satisfaction .
In addition , conservancy parks are built on the concept of a full seven-day operational week , not the typical municipal work schedule . This entails activities like daily sweeping walking paths , cleaning public restrooms more than once a day , providing security staff to supplement police , regularly picking up trash , and staffing safety crews as just a few examples .